MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- Lifelong Moss Point resident Elizabeth Long Irby announced this week that she will run for mayor in this year's municipal election.

"I want to help the people," Irby said. "I decided to run for mayor, mainly, because I want to try to help the people who are sick in Moss Point, the ones who need financial help from being sick due to the issues with our water supply."

Irby, who graduated from Moss Point schools, has a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in sociology/social work and a master's degree from the University of South Alabama in health education.

She is currently employed by Hamilton & Harris Educational Consulting Group, but she has varied experience in social work, mental health and prevention services, federal emergency response and even in running her own bail bond company.

She owned Truth Bonding Company in Moss Point for more than a decade, where she provided re-entry services and counseling for those who had been incarcerated.

Irby has experience in teen pregnancy prevention and teen drug abuse prevention services, and she is certified in providing general health services, such as exercise and nutrition, to the elderly.

In 2005, she worked as a transition specialist aboard the cruise ship Holiday, which was docked in Pascagoula to provide temporary housing to victims.

"I feel like I have experience with people of all ages, from teens to the elderly," she said. "As mayor, I'd like to set up special programs to help the community. I'm trying to make a change, as far as trying to get all the people of Moss Point to be self-sufficient."

If elected mayor, Irby said she would "be tough on crime but make sure everyone's civil rights are protected."

She would also focus on job creation and listening to the public, she said.

"I don't want to just be the city's mayor, I want to be the people's mayor," Irby said. "My door will be open for people's complaints and suggestions every working day."